How to Migrate Your Journal to OJS: Complete Guide for WordPress, Drupal, Bepress

Your Journal Is Outgrowing Your Current Platform. You Need OJS.

Your journal is currently running on WordPress, Drupal, Bepress, or another platform. The platform worked when you were starting out, but now it is limiting you. You cannot run sophisticated peer review. You cannot properly manage issues and volumes. You cannot integrate with indexing services. You want to migrate to OJS, and the professional standard for academic journals.

But migration is intimidating. You have years of articles, metadata, author information, and publication history in your current system. How do you move all of that to OJS without losing data? How do you preserve article URLs so existing links do not break? How do you ensure nothing goes wrong during the transition?

A migration done carelessly can result in lost articles, broken URLs, duplicate content, orphaned metadata, and frustrated authors unable to find their work. A migration done properly preserves everything, maintains discoverability, and positions your journal for growth on a more powerful platform.

This guide walks you through planning, executing, and completing a journal migration to OJS, including data mapping, URL preservation, and verification, written by OJS specialists who have migrated 100+ journals to OJS.

If you want an expert to handle your complete journal migration to OJS, visit ojsguru.com for a free consultation.

Why Journals Migrate to OJS

Before migrating, understand why it is worth the effort.

Limitations of WordPress/Drupal for journals:

• No native peer review workflow
• Limited metadata support
• Poor indexing service integration
• Author management is difficult
• Issue management is cumbersome
• DOAJ indexing requires specific technical features WordPress lacks

Limitations of Bepress (now discontinued):

• Bepress was acquired and service ended
• Journals cannot stay on an unsupported platform long-term
• Migration is necessary, not optional

Advantages of OJS:

• Designed specifically for academic journals
• Native peer review workflow (single-blind, double-blind, open)
• Full metadata support for indexing services
• DOAJ, Scopus, Google Scholar integration
• Sophisticated issue and volume management
• Author and reviewer management built-in
• OAI-PMH harvesting for discovery
• Persistent URLs and DOI support
• Active development and community support

Migration to OJS is an investment in your journal's professional credibility and long-term sustainability.

Step 1: Assess Your Current Data

Before beginning migration, inventory what you have to migrate.

Conduct a data audit:

Go through your current journal platform and document:

Articles:

• Total number of articles
• Which articles have complete metadata (title, authors, abstract, keywords)
• Which articles have associated files (PDFs, supplementary materials)
• Date range of publication

Issues and Volumes:

• How many issues/volumes exist
• How they are organized (chronologically, thematically)
• Whether issues are numbered or named

Authors and Metadata:

• Number of unique authors
• Whether author affiliations are recorded
• Author email addresses (for migration or communication)
• Whether author biographical information exists

Media and Files:

• Types of files associated with articles (PDFs, images, data files)
• File sizes and total storage
• Whether all files are accessible

Current URLs:

• Structure of article URLs (e.g., yourjournal.com/articles/123)
• Whether URLs will change during migration
• Which external sites link to your articles (important for preservation)

Create a spreadsheet documenting what you have:

This audit helps you plan and verify that nothing is lost.

Step 2: Plan Your OJS Installation

Before migrating data, set up your OJS installation correctly.

Install OJS on new hosting (following your preferred installation method):

• cPanel (see earlier guide)
• VPS/Ubuntu (see earlier guide)
• Or have an expert install it for you

Configure basic journal settings:

• Journal title and description
• Journal scope and aims
• ISSN (if you have one)
• Contact information

Do NOT yet:

• Create issues
• Create articles
• Import data

Leave the journal mostly empty. You will populate it during migration.

Step 3: Map Your Data to OJS

Understand how your current platform's data maps to OJS fields.

Common data mapping:

Your Current Platform → OJS

Bepress → OJS:

Create a detailed mapping document showing exactly how each field in your current system will become a field in OJS. This prevents data loss or misplacement.

Step 4: Export Data from Your Current Platform

Export your article data, metadata, and files from your current system.

From WordPress:

1. Use a plugin like "Blog2Social" or "RSS Feed" to export article metadata
2. Export articles as CSV or XML
3. Download all media files (PDFs, images)
4. Export author information if available

From Drupal:

1. Use Views to export article nodes as CSV
2. Export taxonomy (categories) as CSV
3. Download all media and file attachments
4. Export user accounts if migrating authors

From Bepress:

1. Bepress provides migration tools
2. Request institutional repository export
3. Export includes metadata, articles, and author information
4. Use Bepress migration data or extract RSS feeds

What you need to export:

• Complete article metadata (CSV or XML)
• Article PDFs and files
• Author information
• Issue/section information
• Publication dates and issue numbers

Save all exports to a single folder on your computer.

Step 5: Prepare Data for OJS Import

OJS has specific requirements for how data must be formatted for import.

Create CSV files in OJS-compatible format:

OJS expects articles in a specific format. Your exported data will likely need reformatting.

Minimum required fields per article:

article_title,authors,abstract,keywords,publication_date,section,issue,filename
"Article Title","Smith, J.; Doe, A.","Abstract text","keyword1; keyword2","2022-01-15","Research Articles","1","article_filename.pdf"

Use a spreadsheet application:

1. Open your exported data
2. Create columns matching OJS requirements
3. Map your data into OJS column names
4. Save as CSV file

Validate your data:

• Check that all required fields are present
• Verify dates are in correct format (YYYY-MM-DD)
• Confirm author names are complete
• Ensure file references match actual files

Step 6: Create Issues and Sections in OJS

Before importing articles, create the structure where they will go.

Create sections (Go to Journal Settings → Sections):

Match the sections/categories from your old platform:

• Research Articles
• Reviews
• Case Studies
• etc.

Create issues (Go to Issues):

For each issue/volume in your old platform, create a matching issue in OJS:

• Volume 1, Issue 1, Year 2020
• Volume 1, Issue 2, Year 2020
• Volume 2, Issue 1, Year 2021
• etc.

This provides the container where imported articles will live.

Step 7: Import Articles into OJS

Import your prepared data into OJS.

Method 1, Manual Import (small journals):

For journals with fewer than 100 articles, import manually:

1. Go to each issue in OJS
2. Click Add Articles
3. Enter article title, authors, abstract, keywords
4. Upload PDF galley
5. Set publication date
6. Publish article

Time-consuming but ensures quality control. Good for small migrations.

Method 2, Bulk Import (large journals):

For journals with 100+ articles, use bulk import:

1. Use OJS CSV import tool (available in some versions)
2. Or hire an expert to script the import
3. Automated import is faster but requires careful data preparation

During import, verify:

• All articles appear in correct sections
• All articles appear in correct issues
• All metadata (authors, abstract, keywords) transferred correctly
• All PDF files linked properly
• All publication dates correct

Step 8: Preserve Article URLs

Your old platform's article URLs are likely indexed by Google and linked from external sites. Breaking those URLs damages SEO and frustrates readers who find old links.

Preserve URLs using redirects:

If article URLs are changing:

Set up 301 permanent redirects from old URLs to new OJS URLs.

Example:

• Old URL: yourjournal.com/article/123
• New OJS URL: yourjournal.com/index.php/yourjournal/article/view/456

In your web server (Apache or Nginx), create redirects:

# Apache .htaccess
Redirect 301 /article/123 /index.php/yourjournal/article/view/456
Redirect 301 /article/124 /index.php/yourjournal/article/view/457

Better approach, use persistent URLs:

Configure your OJS web server so article URLs remain the same structure.

Example: Keep yourjournal.com/article/123 pointing to the same article even after migration to OJS.

This requires Apache or Nginx configuration. An expert can set this up.

Step 9: Migrate Author and Reviewer Accounts

If you want existing authors to be able to log in and access their articles:

Export author accounts from your old platform:

• Username
• Email address
• Name
• Affiliation
• Password hash (if possible)

Import into OJS:

1. Go to Users & Roles → Users
2. Create user accounts for existing authors
3. Send password reset emails so they can set new passwords
4. Assign Author role

Alternatively, authors can create new accounts when they next submit to your journal.

Step 10: Set Up Indexing and Discovery

After migration, ensure indexing services can find your articles.

Enable OAI-PMH:

• Go to Website Settings → Plugins → Generic Plugins
• Enable OAI Metadata Harvesting Plugin
• This allows DOAJ, Google Scholar, and other services to harvest your content

Submit to indexing services:

• DOAJ, submit your journal with OAI-PMH endpoint
• Google Scholar, submit your journal URL
• Scopus, apply for indexing (if qualified)
• Crossref, if assigning DOIs

Verify articles are discoverable:

• Search Google Scholar for one of your articles
• Confirm DOAJ can harvest your OAI-PMH feed (wait 2-4 weeks)
• Test article links in search results

Step 11: Verify Migration Completeness

After importing all articles, verify nothing was lost.

Completeness checks:

Count check:

• Count articles in old platform
• Count articles in OJS
• Numbers should match

Metadata check:

• Randomly select 10 articles
• Verify all metadata (authors, abstract, keywords) migrated correctly
• Check that publication dates are correct

File check:

• Verify all PDF files are accessible
• Download a few articles and confirm they open correctly
• Check that supplementary files (if any) are present

URL check:

• Test old article URLs to verify redirects work
• Test new OJS article URLs to confirm they resolve correctly

Discovery check:

• Search Google for an article title, confirm old URL redirects correctly
• Verify OJS URL appears in search results

If all checks pass, migration is complete.

Step 12: Communicate Migration to Your Community

After migration is complete, inform your authors, readers, and the indexing community.

Send communications:

Email to authors:

Dear [Journal] Authors and Readers,

We are excited to announce that [Journal] has migrated to 
Open Journal Systems (OJS), the professional platform for 
academic journals.

What has changed:
- New journal website: [new OJS URL]
- All articles and issues have been preserved
- Old article links will redirect to new locations
- Authors can now track submission status online

What stays the same:
- Our editorial standards and peer review process
- Our publication schedule and scope
- Our commitment to open access

Questions? Contact: editor@ourjournal.com

Update your homepage:

• Add a migration announcement
• Explain the benefits of the new platform
• Provide links to key journal pages

Notify indexing services:

• Email DOAJ with your new OJS journal details
• Resubmit to Google Scholar
• Update Crossref and other index registries

Common Migration Mistakes

Mistake 1: Not backing up old platform before migrating

You delete the old platform without saving backups. Lost data cannot be recovered.

Fix:

• Back up your entire old platform (database and files)
• Store backups on external drive and cloud storage
• Do not delete old platform until you have verified OJS migration is complete

Mistake 2: Breaking article URLs without redirects

Old links still appear in Google and external sites, but lead to 404 errors.

Fix:

• Set up 301 redirects from old URLs to new OJS URLs
• Or configure OJS to use the same URL structure
• Test redirects before going live

Mistake 3: Losing metadata during migration

Author names, keywords, or abstracts don't transfer. Articles lack discoverable metadata.

Fix:

• Carefully map your data before migration
• Verify metadata in random sample of imported articles
• Re-enter missing metadata for affected articles

Mistake 4: Publishing old platform content alongside OJS content

Both the old and new journal are live. Search engines index both as duplicate content.

Fix:

• Disable old platform once migration is verified
• Or move old platform to a subdomain (e.g., old.yourjournal.com) for archive access
• Add canonical tags to OJS pages (if needed)

When to Call in a Professional

Journal migration is complex with many potential failure points. Consider professional help when:

• You have 100+ articles to migrate
• Your data is in multiple formats or inconsistent
• You need to preserve article URLs exactly
• You want to ensure zero data loss
• You have custom metadata or unusual requirements
• You want the migration to be seamless to your community

OJS Guru manages complete journal migrations, including data mapping, import, verification, URL preservation, and post-migration indexing setup. We have migrated 100+ journals to OJS with zero data loss.

👉 Get a free consultation at ojsguru.com

Summary

Migrating your journal to OJS is a significant undertaking but enables your journal to leverage professional publishing tools and indexing integrations. The 12 steps covered in this guide take you from planning through post-migration verification:

1. Assess your current data
2. Plan your OJS installation
3. Map your data to OJS fields
4. Export data from current platform
5. Prepare data for OJS import
6. Create OJS issues and sections
7. Import articles into OJS
8. Preserve article URLs with redirects
9. Migrate author accounts
10. Set up indexing and discovery
11. Verify migration completeness
12. Communicate migration to community

Done correctly, your migration will preserve all your content, maintain discoverability, and position your journal for growth on a professional platform.

If you want expert help with your journal migration, contact OJS Guru at ojsguru.com. We handle the entire process from data mapping through verification, ensuring nothing is lost and your community barely notices the transition.

OJS Guru is a professional Open Journal Systems service provider specializing in OJS installation, customization, migration, and technical support for research journal publishers in 20+ countries. Visit ojsguru.com to request a free consultation.